Cocaine found in life jacket in Black Sea

Two Serbians are arrested in connection with the drug-filled washed ashore jackets

SOFIA: Bulgarian authorities have found 170 kilogrammes (370 pounds) of cocaine stuffed in a life jacket floating in the Black Sea, an official said Wednesday, just days after packets of drugs washed ashore in neighbouring Romania.

The life jacket filled with "high quality" cocaine was found near the port of Shabla in the country's northeast, not far from the Romanian border, Bulgarian Interior Minister Mladen Marinov said.

Authorities suspect a "high-sea drug delivery" between two crews, he said, adding his country was working with Romania to investigate the matter.



In Romania, some 330 kilogrammes of cocaine have been found recently with packets of the drug washing ashore on the country's Black Sea coast since last week.

On March 20, more than a tonne of cocaine packed into 36 plastic bags apparently from the same shipment were found in a boat that capsized in the Danube delta.

Two Serbians were arrested in connection with that discovery.

Romania and Bulgaria are key transit points for cocaine originating in Latin America destined for western Europe.